Local cycling club

[Kev365428]

So, I went down to check out the local cycling club's last round of their club championship today (Macarther Collegians). 3 laps of a 15km course with undulating hills.

The first guy home did it in something like 1:12 or so.

Here are a few things I learnt just from watching/listening to the members talk -

1. I need a new bike ( ) My bike, although only 12 months old is very basic. Some of the bikes being ridden were bloody beautiful. I'm not all that savvy in what makes a good bike, or what is the best wheelset around, so don't ask me what they were running, but damn they looked nice. My poor old(?) Gitanne might get an inferiority complex. Those here who might know more can answer this for me - when some of the guys were freewheeling past me, their hubs were making a very distintive cliking sound, while other were, like mine, quite.

2. I need to ride a lot more. Some of the guys in the race had ridden out from Parramatta to Menangle for the race, then rode home again. I'm guessing about 120 to 140 km for the day. How can you race effectively after riding 40km or so?

3. I might be faster than I think. 45km in 1hour 12 equates to 37km/h average. Now, and the regular racers/group riders can correct me if I'm wrong, but if I can average 30km/h on a 100km solo ride, I should be able to hold 37km/h in a group environment, shouldn't I?


Anyway, the summer series starts in October, so I will pays me money and join up. Racing every Sunday morning is the incentive I need to keep working away at my weight, and it will also help as a indicator of any improvements.

Looking forward to the interclub days when they happen to see I can spot anyone I know.

Cheers all,

Kev

[mikesbytes]

Is this the race you are referring to?

http://www.macarthurcycling.com/Race%20Results/1-9-07%20Bicentenial%20HCap%20Menangle.htm

I can tell you that from the riders I know in that race that the average speed was lower than I expected, which indicates that conditions were not fast and/or tactical reasons.

Average speed in a scratch criterion doesn't fully indicate that actual effort expended. The race will slow down and speed up, as a game of tactics is played out. The difference between the grades is often more to do with how many and how viscous the attacks are.

To answer you question whether 30kph/100k = 37kph/45k, the answer is not applicable, because the endurance figures don't indicate your ability to attack, fend of attacks and win the sprint. What your figure does show is that you build up a great endurance base and with a bit or racing experience should be enjoying the glory in no time at all.

See the guys at the club, they'll be able to determine appropriate grading, enter a few races and enjoy.

[mikesbytes]

And here's the pic of the start

[Jashy]

Hey Kev, I'm new here but I was a member of the MCCC club from 2003-2005, I participated in the crits and the road races. I'm now in the process of getting back into form for the summer series in Nov-Dec this year.

First off I wouldn't worry about your bike, I ride a Gitane Mach 1800 (Full Shimano 105, I've since upgraded the wheels, Bar and Stem), and my brother used to race on a Giant OCR 3 (Shimano Sora components). We had no problems racing in B and C grades, so assuming your bike is in working order it should do just fine.

As mike has said, the crit racing is a different type of race to the road racing. The Macarthur course is on an L shaped piece of very smooth road and its dead flat. Doing a lap, you do 2x 180 degree turns where you lose a large amount of speed, and 2x 90 degree turns where you lose a small amount of speed. So a complete lap has 2 big accelerations and 2 small ones, add attacks to this and you find yourself quite often in the red.

Last time I raced the crits D grade averaged around 32-33 km/h for 30 mins or so, C around 34-35 for 40mins, B 37-38 for 50mins and A up to and beyond 40 for 50 min. Given your level of fitness you should be fine in D or maybe even C, there easy going guys so if you end up riding off the front of D they'll just chuck you in C next time.

Hope to see you out there.

Jon

[Kev365428]

Not the same race Mike.

Today's race was a 45km scratch race for members only - no interclub.

Don't get me wrong, I am, by no means, thinking that I'll start racing and win every event. Far from it. Having never riden in a group environment, let alone raced, I fully expect to be blown away for the first three or four races until I can raise my fitness level and gain an understanding of race tactics to a point where I might be able to hang on to the tail end of the tail enders.

Jon, should see you out there as I intend to compete in the summer series as well. We'll make a great pair, both on Mach 1800's. I'm interested in what bar, wheels and stem you've fitted.

Kev.

[Jashy]

Nothing special on the bars/stem, 90mm Ritchey Stem and 42cm BBB bars, the old set up was 130mm stem and 44cm bars with a really low drop, this made me feel really spread out and was horribly uncomfortable on long rides (my fault for not getting a proper fit). I bought the new set simply for comfort/price and they've done me well since.

The wheels are a set of shimano R550s the LBS had on sale, I bought them after breaking the 3rd spoke on the rear wheel of the set that came with the bike.